WTTC Report: AI Will Revolutionise Travel & Tourism
The latest reports from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and Microsoft mark a commitment to a digital future with excellent customer experiences by highlighting the transformative power of AI for travel & tourism.
Unveiled at the global tourism body's FITUR event and in association with WTTC's industry partner, Microsoft, the first of a series of AI reports is set to redefine standards for travel and tourism and urge industry practitioners to further integrate these technologies.
Being the industry leader in travel and tourism worldwide, WTTC is dedicated to promoting innovation and helping the travel and tourism industry adopt AI and other cutting-edge technology. As AI continues to revolutionise the industry, WTTC recognises its critical role in advancing sustainability and exceptional customer experiences.
WTTC thinks AI has the potential to be a key component in providing travellers with a customised and enhanced travel experience both today and in the future.
By assessing passenger data, refining pricing tactics through real-time modifications, and providing rapid responses and optimised interactions through sophisticated AI-powered chatbots, this technology could enable customised recommendations and marketing plans.
The paper also emphasises how AI can effectively allocate resources, forecast future demand trends, and offer insightful information to stakeholders in the travel and tourism industry as well as governments.
This contribution can play a crucial role in achieving a more responsible and sustainable sector by monitoring and reducing environmental impacts and promoting sustainability through effective resource management.
Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said, “As we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of travel & tourism, AI emerges as a catalyst for positive change.
“The transformative capabilities highlighted in this report demonstrate that AI is not just a technological advancement; it is a strategic tool that can personalise the customer experience, drive sustainable improvements, and create real time pricing models.”
Julie Shainock, Microsoft Managing Director Travel, Transport & Logistics, said, “Using Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Models across the travel sector allows greater productivity for companies and drives a more personalised consumer experience.
“For travellers, the ability to drive more inspiration and personalised offers at booking means providing tools to consumers to proactively assist them while in destination to anticipate their needs with relevant information to improve their journey. For travel companies, GenAI is there to increase productivity, automate the predictable, and allow our human centric approach to the high value moments in travel to shine more.”
Travel & tourism is showing more and more examples of AI applications, but the report shows that the industry is still lagging behind other consumer-facing industries in adopting AI. The rise of AI in a number of industries last year has made it a significant force, and the travel and tourism industry needs to move quickly to maximise its effects.
Travel and tourism companies face a number of obstacles, such as a lack of individuals with AI expertise, a lack of adequate AI infrastructure, and the explicit lack of an "AI strategy" in numerous business plans.
Businesses in the travel and tourism industry are urged to embrace AI as a strategic goal and make significant investments in personnel to promote human-AI collaboration.
The report discusses the possibility of job creation in the face of concerns about AI's effects on employment, acknowledging that while AI may cause disruptions, it will also lead to new opportunities.
Responsible data management is a key tactic in the travel and tourism industry's search for sustainable AI practices.
Employing strategies like data reduction, effective storage, and ethical data disposal becomes essential for businesses looking to limit carbon emissions from emerging digital technologies and drastically lower their environmental impact from artificial intelligence.
The report looks at how AI is being used in society and business. It highlights the importance of safe and responsible AI system design in the travel and tourism industry, marks a turning point in the industry's dedication to sustainability and innovation, and shows how AI has the potential to influence a promising future for the industry.
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